God’s Delight in Our Life’s Mission

At the end of the Christmas season, we come full circle with this Sunday’s Gospel. Just a few weeks past, on the Third Sunday of Advent, the church read this same passage with hopeful expectation for the coming messiah. “The people were filled,” says Luke, “with expectation and all were asking in their hearts whether John might be the Christ” (Lk 3:15). The focus then was on anticipation, on the ancient promise that stirred the heart in a certain direction, on a profound longing. On this Sunday’s feast, the Baptism of the Lord, the same reading directs our attention not to anticipation but to fulfillment, to the one who has already arrived on the scene, the Christ whom the Father calls “my beloved Son.” In this Sunday’s Gospel passage, Jesus finds his mission confirmed in God’s delight. Christians today have the privilege of undertaking that same mission with Jesus.

How does this confirmation stand apart from the other validations already given in Luke’s Gospel? For example, the angel Gabriel announced to Mary that she would bear a son and name him Jesus (Lk 1:31). There is a touching scene when the infant in Elizabeth’s womb leapt for joy at the sound of Mary’s greeting. This was followed by the canticle of Mary as she proclaimed a time of mercy for Israel, a time when God “filled the hungry with good things” (Lk 1:53). At the birth of Jesus, the angel of the Lord brought the good news to shepherds in the field, “Today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Messiah and Lord” (Lk 2:11). Even the elders in the temple revealed their own prophecies surrounding this child. Simeon prophesied, “My eyes have seen your salvation,” while the prophetess Anna gave thanks to God for the child who would bring redemption to Jerusalem (Lk 2:29-38). 

What more did Jesus need in terms of confirmation for his mission?

Each of the scenes from Luke’s Gospel mentioned above is meaningful on its own, and each one carries some theological weight. Yet the scene of Jesus’ baptism in this Sunday’s Gospel does stand apart. The Son receives God’s endorsement without any intermediary. For example, as Jesus was praying, the heavens opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in the form of a dove. God’s very self offers the endorsement without any messenger or intermediary. 

As if this were not enough, a voice from heaven speaks, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased” (Lk 3:22). Another possible translation from the Greek is, “With you I take delight!” This confirmation, then, is distinct from the previous ones in Luke’s Gospel. Only in this scene is Jesus mature, ready to embrace his work. Only here does the divine voice speak for itself without intermediary. Only here does one find the words of comfort: “I delight in you,” or “with you I am well pleased.” This confirmation also carries the message of Christmas. Jesus, called Emmanuel, God-with-us, comes from God who delights in humanity so much so that God’s own Son comes to live with us. It is all about “delighting” in the presence of what is good and humble. 

God’s “delighting in Jesus” is the hallmark of this Sunday’s confirmation through the Spirit. No other voice matters to Jesus as much as the Father’s. Jesus hears the delight in God’s voice in this Sunday’s Gospel scene, and it is one that we ourselves can also aspire to hear one day. May we too come to delight in the one who delights in us.